Apparatus for the dipping of tubes or rods for pickling, etc.



Aug. 25, 1931. H. TREVORROW APPARATUS FOR THE DIPPING OF TUBES OR RODS FOR PICKLING, ETC

Filed A ril 29. 1929 v s Sheets-Sheet 1 Alvlg- 1931. H. TREVORROW ,820,851

APPARATUS FOR THE DIPPING OF TUBES OR RODS FOR PICKLING, ETC

I Filed April 29,1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a 3* N T' &

if e vo r-r'o 14/ I lNverv-r Q Aug. 25, 1931. H. TREVORROW APPARATUS FOR THE DIPPING OF TUBES 0R RODS FOR PICKLING Filed April 29, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [N ve- Ta 6 F 17 24/ Patented Aug. .25, 1931 UNITED STATES -.PATENT orrlca navnnocx ranvomw, or amount, mzemnn manure son an; mrrme or mas or. none ron mounts, are.

Application fled April 89, 1928, Serial No. 858,068, and in Great Britain In? 10, 1988.

In the manufacture of steel and other metal tubes or rods, it is necessary for pickling, cleaning, galvanizing, lubricating andother purposes to dip such work into acid or other 6 liquids for efiecting the required treatment.

Such liquids are contained in vats, baths,

troughs or like receptacles in association with which work supports in the form of looped chains have been arranged with 19 means for so moving said chains as to effect the dipping of'the work, which is inserted endwise into the loops of said chains.

The object of this invention is to provide means for effecting the said dipping in a more convenient, economical and eficient manner.- In accordance with the invention, the work to be dipped is supported in one or more flexible slings having open sides, permitting of the front or lateral insertion and withdrawal of the work. These slings comprise chains or other flexible members which are attached at one end of each to one side of the tank which contains the pickling or other bath. The other end of each sling extends upwardly above the oppositeside of the tank, so that, upon lowering the same, the intermediate portion of the sling descends in a loop into the bath. When the free ends of the slin are raised and lowered, the other ends i eing fixed, the workpieces in the slings, such as tubes or rods,

will be caused. to roll or move laterally with respect to each other. I make use of this of the slin's, to obtain the desired tumbling of t e work-pieces in the, pickling solution, necessary fo: the removal of scale.v

. moval from the slings. They may, of course,

action, caused by the described arrangement .shown in Figures 1-3, the flexible slings a are formed by a plurality of lengths of is removed at the end of the dipping process.

his is accomplished by me, as .one feature of my improved method by raising thesling at one end of the wor ,-piece's faster than the sling at the other end, or by raising one sling to a higher level than the other, at

the termination of the dipping, so that the work-pieces will be tilted lengthwise, as they are lifted from the bath prior to rebe given such tilting movements during all of their rising and falling movements with the slings, the essential point being that they be given such tilting movement just prior to their removal from the slings. The invention also comprises improved means whereby the described method may be practiced, the mechanism including means, preferably automatic, for repeatedly raising and lowerin the slings during the continuance of the xfipping operation. The Improved apparatus also includes means for causing the described tilting of the workpieces as they are raised, to efi'ect drainmg.

In order that the invention ma be more clearly understood, attention ,is irected to the accompanying-drawings, illustrating one embodiment of, ap aratus comprising the invention, and by Wliichthe improved method may be practised. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is afront elevation, Figure 2 a plan and Figure 3 an end w'ew of the apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 4 is an end view showing a vertically movable cradle in combination with the dipping slings.

In carrying the invention into efi'ect as chain or rope, one end of each length being anchored to drums g on a winding shaft 6 mounted above one side of the dipping trough a, and the other end fixed to the opposite side of the trough. The said lengths thus form open .sided loops across the trough, and the work, consisting of metal tubes or rods or the like, can be readily inserted laterally into the'open sides ofthe The winding shaft b is rotated in alter-- nate directions in any convenient manner (as for example by an electric motor (2 and gearing e) to give rising and falling movements to the slings within the trough liquid. Such movements are accompanied. by a tumbling or relative rolling motion of the work pieces as they rise and fall with the slings. The rising and falling action is preferably obtained automatically by any convenient means, such as for example, an automatic reversing switch which at regular intervals causes the 7 motor 13 to be reversed. This switch may be actuated by a lever 9 through a rod 1 from a worm wheel 8 driven by a worm t on, for example, the shaft 5.

To effect the endwise tilting tion of the work for the drainage of the same at the conclusion of the dipping that is, when the work has been raised out of the trough or -tank a, a cone pulley f may be arranged in association w th one or more of the drums 9 around which the chains are coiled, so that the chain wound on the said drum or drums will be moved at agreater rate than the others and thereby tilt or incline the work to enable it to automatically drain or clear itself of the li uid. This feature is more particularly use 1 when the work pieces consist of tubes, as it serves to expedite the drainage of liquid from the interior of the tubes.

Adjacent to the fixed ends of the slings guide rails h are arranged and adapted to form inclined tracks on which the work can be placed when removed from the slings at the end of the dipping operation. The work can gravitate down the guides to any desired position, as for example into a washing or d 'n tank 7;.

When it is iiiid sirable to allow the work pieces'to roll freely off the guide rails 72. I may arran e adjacent to the said rails (as shown in igure 4) a cradle consisting of a plurality of suitably shaped supporting bars j which are suspended by ropes or chains I: connected to coiling drums l and guide pulleys m. By rotating these drums the cradle can be raised or lowered as required. The dotted lines in Figure 4 show the cradle in the lower position.

It will be noted that the operation, as

performed with the apparatus specifically.

described above, is as ollows: The workpieces are placed within the slings when the latter are in their uppermost position, above the level of the bath in the tank or trough a, in which position the loops of the slings are sufiiciently curved to contain the required number of tubes, rods, or bars. The motor being started, the slings are lowered into the bath, the motion being reirection of the or 'inclinaversed automatically when the lowermost position of the slings is reached, whereupon the work rises until its original uppermost position is reached, when the operation of the reversin switch again starts the slings downwar The operation is continued as lon as desired, when it is stopped by stopping the motor. Each time the workpieces near their upper most osition, the conical drum causes themto tilted, so that, if the work-pieces are tubes, a flow of liquid therein will be caused, to drain them. The work-pieces may now be removed from the slings, as, for example, by hand.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the construction which has been specifically described, by way of example,'the scope of the invention being indicated b the appended claims.

Having t us described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 3 1. In apparatus for dipping metal tubes, bars, rods and similar articles in pickling or other baths,;the combination of a tank for the bath, rotary means mounted above the tank at one side thereof, flexible slings extending,-at one end thereof, over said rotary means and attached atthe other end thereof to the opposite sideof said tank,

said slings to lower the intermediate portions thereof into said tank with the work- -means for lowering the first named ends of ping operation, for the removal of the workpieces, and means for causing the alternate raising and lowering of said first-named sling ends during the continuance of thedipping o eration,to cause relative rolling motion 0 said work-pieces.

2. In apparatusfor dipping metal tubes, bars, rods and similar articles in pickling or other baths, the combination of a tank for the bath, rotary means mounted above the tank at one side thereof, flexible slings extending, at one end thereof, over said rotary means and attached at the other end thereof to the opposite side of said tank,

means for lowering the first named ends of said slings to lower the intermediate portions thereof into said tank with the workpieces thereon, and for raising said firstnamed ends, at the conclusion of the dipping operation, for the removal of the workpieces, and automatically operating means for causing the alternate raising and lowerea set attached, at one end of each thereof, to one side of said tank and extending upwardly, at the other end of each thereof, above the opposite side of said tank, and means for lowerin said last-named sling ends to low-- er the intermediate. portions of the slings into said tank with the work-pieces thereon, and for raising said last-named ends, one more rapidl than the other, at the conclusion of t e dipping operation, to efiect tilting and draining of the work-pieces, prior to their removal from said slings.

4. In apparatus for dippingmetal tubes, bars, rods and similar articles in pickling or other baths, the combination of a tank for the bath, a rotary shaft mounted at one side of said tank, a cylindrical drum and a conical drum on said shaft, and a airof flexible slings, each attached at one en thereof to the side of said tank opposite to said shaft and attached at their other ends to said cylindrical drum and to said conical ing the continuance of the dipping operation, 7

, and means for causing the raising of said last-named sling ends, one more rapidly than the other, at the conclusion of the di ping operation, for the removal of the wor pieces from said slings.

6. In apparatus for dipping metal tubes,

bars, rods and similar articles in picklin or other baths, the combination of a tan for the bath, a rotary shaft mounted at one side of said tank, flexible slings attached at one end of each thereof to said shaft and attached at the opposite ends thereof to the opposite side of said tank, the intermediate parts-thereof being lowerable into said tank,

a motor, connections therefrom for driving said shaft in opposite directions, a switch for reversin said motor, and connections from' In testimony w ereof I have signed my name to this specification. V HAVELOCK TREVORROW 

